Police: Officers shoot man who pointed TV remote at them

TOMS RIVER, N.J. (AP) — Police shot and wounded a man who called in false reports about a gunman and then used a television remote control to mimic a deadly weapon as he walked toward them, authorities said Monday.

The shooting occurred Sunday night in Toms River, Ocean County prosecutors said. The man remained hospitalized Monday in critical but stable condition and was expected to survive, they said, but they didn't disclose details about his injuries.

The man had been staying at a motel in Toms River and took the remote control from his room. He made two 911 calls about a gunman, first claiming an armed man was in the area and then saying there were three suspicious men but only one with a gun, prosecutors said. Two officers who responded found the man hiding his right hand behind his back.

The officers repeatedly told the man to put his hands up as he approached them, but, prosecutors said, the man instead pulled his hand out and pointed the remote control at the officers, who then fired nine shots, striking him twice.

The officers were uninjured. The names of the officers and the wounded man have not been released.